Why I hate hot summer days?

In the big city near the bay

Blazing summer day

Accompanied with hot wind

Nearing the thirty five degrees

Day for heading to the beach

Another day feeling of holidays!

In the country side it is another story

Too many memories explain

The reason why I hate hot summer days.

Anxiety starts with the morning breeze

The day is busy, clean the gutters

Clean the garden around the house

Collect the valuables, photos included,

Keep the pets inside

Keep the children occupied

Search for the fire channels on tv or radio

And leave them on in the background

Get batteries for the radio.

The fire alert is on

For someone somewhere

Has done the unthinkable

And lit a fire.

Its time to fill in the bath and any containers

Decision time

To stay and defend the house

Hoping for a miracle that the fire will skip it

Or go to the nearest designated safe area after a mad scramble

Before the highway is closed to civil traffic.

The incessant droning of the helicopters

Delivering their buckets of water

Can be heard all over the mountains

The bush is on fire.

The fire trucks and teams

Try to keep it inside the fire containing lines

But the wind spreads crown fires

Disaster strikes

The first human victims have been claimed by the inferno

The constantly changing wind direction

Managed to create a circle of fire that trapped them.

The fight goes on, other fire brigades are called on

Intra and interstate, the night will be long.

The air has acquired the heavy and oily

 Distinctive smell of a bushfire.

Above the hill the red incandescent glow globe

Is staring as a malevolent beast

Ready to pounce, devour 

And bring on more destruction in its wake.

All the neighbourhood is looking at it

And commenting outside in the street.

The night coolness is slowing it down

But the weather man is very pessimistic

And announces another scorching day

At least he is not glorifying

The nice hot day to come for the townies.

The normal TV programs have been replaced

By emergency ones giving

Regular information and advice statuses.

The traffic down the street has suddenly increased

A caravan of fire trucks is passing under the windows

Cars are driving back up

The radio announces that residents have been told to  

Abandon their properties and get out

The fire is at the gully just at the bottom of the street.

The fire front is fifteen kilometres long

On the northern side of the highway

The advice is to wait for the people

To knock on your door before evacuating

In order to leave the street

To the fire engines as long as possible

Comes the long list of streets names.

The phone rings, friends

Offering respite accommodation

Even overseas family is calling

With anxious wishes

As the fire has hit the news.

The night is a long awaiting.

By morning the day has been transformed

In a grey soup of smoke,

One cannot see more than a few metres

The good news is

The fire has been contained so far

To this side, lower down a few townships

Have been badly touched,

But only material losses are reported.

Another day, another fight

The fire will take a week to come under control.

That is why I hate hot summer days!

L. Bailliet ©

26/02/2012